Obit: James Garner

Veteran television and film star James Garner has died.

Garner’s first major starring role was as Bret Maverick on the classic TV western Maverick, which originally aired on ABC from 1957 to 1962. He reprised the role in the early 1980s revival series Bret Maverick on NBC.

An early 1970s western series Nichols lasted just one season, but Garner’s next role was probably his best-known. He played private investigator Jim Rockford in NBC’s The Rockford Files. The show aired from 1974 to 1980 and was later followed by a number of made-for-TV movies in the 1990s.

Garner also starred in over 50 films, including The Children’s Hour, The Great Escape, Support Your Local Sheriff! and The Thrill of It All. Some of his later credits included the TV series 8 Simple Rules and in the romance drama The Notebook.

James Garner died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 86 years old.